Islamic finance industry is claimed to be one of the fastest growing industry and allegedly immune to any financial turmoil. With a growth of between 15 to 20% for the past decades, it surely provides an interesting avenue for research. One aspect that is still under-researched is the shari'ah audit. In the absence of a proper framework and standards, this could dampen the future of the Islamic finance industry. There is an impending need for the Islamic financial institutions to provide reasonable and sufficient assurance that they have really followed the shari'ah through shari'ah audit. The absence of proper shari'ah audit framework is worrying. This study is embarked to get the perspectives of the postgraduate students on shari'ah audit in a country relatively new to Islamic finance industry. Postgraduate students from two universities are chosen as samples. Survey questionnaires are distributed by hand and the results are presented using frequency tables. It is found that they have a low level of awareness and understanding of the term and concept of shari'ah audit. They are also in vague as to whether the shari'ah audit is the same as conventional audit. Moreover, they feel that the Islamic financial institutions are not doing enough to promote shari'ah audit. They agree that the mass media has a big role to play in promoting shari'ah audit. Finally, they agree that the shari'ah audit has a very good potential to be developed in the future.

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Purpose -The concept of accountability has long been argued in the academic and public policy debate to have been contextually ingrained in the technical processes of accounting and reporting. Both processes provide lenses through which the extent of managerial accountability in the corporate context could be objectively examined. The sacred religion of Islam as a social order with a complete code of life classifies accountability as being dual; in line with the duality concept in life -in this temporal world and eternal hereafter, necessitating for accountability concept in accounting and reporting from the Islamic worldview to transcend beyond the point of worldly objectives. Parallel to this line of reasoning, the purpose of this paper is to undertake a preliminary empirical investigation with respect to accounting, reporting and accountability practices of a Malaysian cash awqaf (Islamic endowment) management institution over a six-year period, from 2000 to 2005. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses triangulation research approach, consisting of case study method and archival documentation review and analysis. Findings -The preliminary findings indicate that, while the root of accountability in the management, accounting and reporting practices seems to exist in the awqaf entity studied, significant improvements remain necessary to ensure accountability could be continuously enhanced and uphold. Originality/value -Debating accountability concept in the context of management, accounting and reporting as practiced by faith-based institution of awqaf from the Islamic perspective inevitably directs this study to highlight the notion of Islamic accounting and reporting commonly and extensively discussed in the realm of Islamic finance and banking. The study's conjecture is that, by debunking the myth of Islamic accounting and reporting as only serving the acute domain of transactions reflecting the Islamic financial products in banking environment, it helps to reshape, broaden and emphasize the all encompassing relevance of Islamic accounting and reporting to that of not-for-profits, religiously grounded entities such as awqaf institutions. The study further contributes to the accountability and financial reporting literature in Islamic not-for-profit organizations by studying the importance of sound accounting practices and reporting transparency in ensuring accountability.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review, understand and document the contemporary waqf-S management, financial accounting and reporting practices and to understand relevant drivers behind the current accountability culture in waqf-S, aiming at exploring the intertwined nature of accounting, reporting and the religion of Islam. The accountability literature has been relatively scant on the role played by accounting and reporting in not-for-profit, religious-based organizations and its implications for accountability discourse. Three accountability drivers of regulatory, stakeholders and religious image are tested. It is interesting to research how management, accounting and reporting are being practiced in an Islamic organization setting in a non-Islamic country. Design/methodology/approach – Consistent with the established research objectives, this study adopts the qualitative research approach of a single case study research involving semi-structured interviews and archival documentation review and analyses. Sample is chosen using purposive sampling to suit the research objectives. Findings – The paper finds that waqf-S is a very successful awqaf manager. The administration and management are carried out in the most effective manner with comprehensive rules, guidelines and procedures. The awqaf financial reporting and management are impressive as annual financial reports are published on time and available for the public online. The paper proposes three lenses to examine the accountability drivers of waqf-S: Regulatory, Stakeholders and Religious image of Islamic organization and, it turns out that all three are equally important in driving the organization accountability practices. Research limitations/implications – The sample is an Islamic organization in a non-Islamic country; therefore, the results are unique and may not be generalised to organizations in Islamic nations, as it will be a different setting with different variables. Secondly, the paper only focuses on awqaf financial accounting, awqaf reporting and investigating the driving factors for the institution’s accountability culture. Practical implications – This paper is important as it shows that the management and administration of awqaf, which has been plague by mismanagement, embezzlements and lack of talents, can be improved and managed systematically, although there is a clear evidence of the lack of capable or talented human resources. It is compensated by the significant use of technology. Originality/value – Focusing on a single awqaf institution (waqf-S) operating in a non-Islamic Southeast Asian country, our analysis allows us to observe the influence of multiple factors influencing its organizational wide accountability policy. We consider this as a contribution to the literature, as it generates knowledge on how management, accounting and reporting are being devised as strategic tools in the institution’s accountability policy framework, beyond the normal office management, financial data recording and disclosure per se. Multiple factors drive the structured and transparent reporting by waqf-S, transcending beyond the traditional financial accounting and reporting boundary of meeting regulatory requirements; it reaches the concerned while ensuring that the necessary accountability towards stakeholders is observed and upheld.

Purpose of the study-Corporate governance has attracted much attention and is still a hot topic among shareholders, directors and company regulators. Failure of large corporations in the past decades not only affected the shareholders and investors, rather it adversely affects all the stakeholders. Good corporate governance practices are argued to curb company's failures due to fraudulent activities, collusion schemes and mismanagement. The purpose of this study is to examine a state-owned enterprise corporate governance model. There is still a gap in the corporate governance model literature especially in the context of an emerging Asian market. This study is embarked to fill the gap. Design/Methodology/Approach-The study took the qualitative approach. It utilized case study method. As it is a single case study, only one sample is chosen using the convenience or purposive sampling technique. Informal and semi-structured interviews are conducted with two representatives from the company. Data is also sourced from published documents related to the company. The company is designated as Company R as the study is not allowed to reveal the company's real name. Findings-The study found that the corporate governance structure of the board is of unitary or one tier board. This is common in the Anglo American settings. The Board of Directors (BoD) is accountable to the shareholder. They are entrusted with the responsibilities to manage the business. The board member are selected and appointed by the government. Most of them are senior government officials with some representation from the industry. They are chosen from highly capable and trustworthy government officers to represent and safeguard the government's interest in the company. The shareholding of the company is 100% owned by the government. Therefore, any issues with minority shareholders do not exist. Representatives of the government sit on the board. They are all nonexecutive directors. The company did not practice Chief Executive Officer (CEO) duality roles (CEO and Chairman of the board). As for the structure of ownership, it is a typical company with the other Asian state-owned enterprises where the state has full ownership and control of the company. Hence, the company board is under the state direct control. They are also required to submit the annual report and audited financial statements every year. Apart from that, the board is also required to send company's performance and financial standing on a regular basis to the government. Limitation /scope of the study-The study faced several limitations in terms of getting information from the company as most information especially financials are regarded as confidential. Nevertheless, the study manages to get the necessary information for the purpose of this research. The data collected are just enough to fulfil the research objectives and answer the research questions on examining the corporate governance model. The sample of the study

The increasing awareness on Islamic banking and finance has created a huge demand for shari'ah based or shari'ah compliant products. Banks, especially are trying to capture this huge market by either converting themselves into a full fledge Islamic banks or opening a window for the Islamic based transactions. This study highlights the reasons why traditional banks turned towards Islamic model. The phenomenon of traditional banks turning into Islamic form was reinforced by the success of these banks averting the recent world economic crises. This study examined this phenomenon through four axes, first is the law, second is the risk and profit rates, third is about the customer needs for Islamic products, final one the lessons of successful conversions the region. This study concludes that there is a statistical significance between the trend towards the switching to Islamic banks and the low risk nature with high levels of profits that characterized Islamic banks. Also, religious (Islam) has influenced the conversion towards Islamic model. The study put forward several recommendations.

The worldwide Islamic finance industry had grown remarkably in the past decades, primarily propelled by the strong demand for shari'ah (Islamic Law) compliant banking products by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Behind the façade of such outstanding industry's development, there remain unresolved critical governance issues warranting for immediate attention by industry stakeholders. Besides the presence of significant variations with regards to the scope and framework for shari'ah audit in the currently available shari'ah governance policy standards, another imperative issue surrounds the relatively small pool of knowledgeable and competent shari'ah auditors (vis-à-vis conventional auditors) to perform shari'ah auditing of Islamic financial transactions and hence, the institutions. Arguably, these pose a significant threat to the coordinated development of this religiously rooted industry. The study's conjecture is that education holds the key to resolve the issue. Accordingly, it Asian Journal of Finance & Accounting ISSN 1946-052X 2013 www.macrothink.org/ajfa 85 undertakes a preliminary survey on Bruneian undergraduate students in the field of accounting, business and shari'ah related, majority of whom are expected to be part of Brunei's future shari'ah auditing labor market. The study finds that students' understanding of shari'ah auditing is arguably "rudimentary" in nature. While the characteristics and knowledge expected of shari'ah auditor are well understood, the students are however unsure of the primary objective for shari'ah auditing. These highlight the practical imperative for the Brunei government to consider a holistic revamp of its education strategies in meeting future market demands for qualified and well trained shari'ah auditors.